Chief executive officer Datuk Seri Jamil Bidin said positive feedback was received from all three countries as they realised the potential of raking in hefty profits.

“The trade centres will serve as a stepping stone for Malaysia to expand the markets for halal products to countries close to these three countries,” he told reporters at the two-day World Halal Conference which began on Wednesday.

He said the establishment of the trade centres would not require any capital outlay from Malaysia as China, Saudi Arabia and Europe were ready to inject funds to secure expertise from Malaysia.

“However, this plan is still in the discussion stage between HDC and its business partners from the three countries.

“They are also very interested to emulate Malaysia in setting up a halal ecosystem industry,” he said.

Jamil added that this proved that Malaysia was acknowledged as having the overall best halal ecosystem in terms of product output.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia has been listed as HDC’s latest trading partner as the country imported 40% of its halal food.

“With a trade centre there, Saudi Arabia has the potential to become the 10th largest importer of halal products from Malaysia in the future,” he added. — Bernama